I was cleaning out my computer docs and came across notes I forgot post. I think they are still relevant eventhought the attention by most has turned from energy to economy. Read on if you want clean energy options.

I attended a conference last spring in Colorado. One discussion was led by Ray Lane, Managing Partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He talked about the clean tech market and the areas of opportunity. Now I have been to many clean tech presentations and usually when I come out of them I understand about half of what is being said. It takes me back to my 8th grade German classes when it seemed everyone else knew what was going on but me. (Ich bin un dummkopf.) But Ray’s presentation did not evoke those teenage images of discomfort. Here are some of the points I came away with that I think all should know:

Facts of global warming
80% of our energy is dependent on fossil fuels.
50% of our fossil fuel consumption is wasted through heat, processing or other areas of inefficiencies.
7 gigatons  (7 billion tons) of carbon are annually emitted by the U.S.  The atmosphere holds about 750 gigatons of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. Humanity currently emits about 22 gigatons of carbon dioxide, about seven gigatons of which is carbon (excluding traditional biomass burning of one gigaton). That 22-gigaton annual output of carbon dioxide comes from burning about seven gigatons of the current mix of hydrocarbon.  
To stop global warming we will need to eliminate 350 gigatons from the atmosphere. Lane stressed the concept of technological "wedges" which, when fully deployed in 2050, will result in one gigaton per year of carbon emissions reductions.

Those are some big numbers. So what are our options?

Solar – Solar energy is energy directly from the sun. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. Heat and light from the sun, along with solar-based resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available flow of renewable energy. The sun emits 100,000 terrawatts (if you don’t know what that is – it is A LOT) constantly. Lane stated that it is estimated that in 2050 the world will use 15 terrawatts per year.

Challenges - storage and capacity issues as well as costs. If we are able to develop better ways to store large amounts of solar produced energy we can then get it closer to the cost of energy provided by coal.

Opportunities - We are a few product generations away from producing solar in an efficient and cheap way that can be affordable for power companies and consumers to utilize solar on a mass scale. A grid 92 x 92 miles could power the U.S. needs. More information on solar options can be found here. http://www.ases.org/

Wind – In 2005, wind machines in the United States generated a total of 17.8 billion kWh per year of electricity, enough to serve more than 1.6 million households. This is enough electricity to power a city the size of Chicago, but it is only a small fraction of the nation's total electricity production, about 0.4 percent. The amount of electricity generated from wind has been growing fast in recent years, tripling since 1998.

Challenges – transmission lines from wind farms to communities is expensive. Reliant on wind blowing and may be intermittent.

Opportunities – This is one of the fastest growing sector of alternative energy. The U.S. leads the world in wind installations. More information on wind energy can be found here.

Bio-fuels – Biofuels are produced from living organisms or from metabolic by-products (organic or food waste products). In order to be considered a biofuel the fuel must contain over 80 percent renewable materials. 

Challenges – competition of crops for fuel vs. food.

Opportunities –  1.4 trillion gallons currently produced. The U.S. consumes 6 trillion.
Cellulostic crops produce fuels competitive to those of last years high fuel prices. For more info on bio Fuels here is a good resource.

Geo Thermal – is energy generated by heat stored beneath the Earth's surface or the collection of absorbed heat in the atmosphere and oceans. It offers a number of advantages over traditional fossil fuel based sources. From an environmental standpoint, the energy harnessed is clean and safe for the surrounding environment.

Challenges – not everyone lives in Iceland and has hot pools outside their doorways. Environmental concerns with drilling and drilling expenses.

Opportunities – It was estimated that geo thermal power can provide 100 gigawatts of thermal power. Once accessed it can provide clean efficient energy and a competitive cost point.  For more info on geo thermal click here

Product Energy Efficiency – The next generation of vehicles need to be more fuel efficient. If car fuel efficiency increased to 60 mpg would reduce emissions by 25%.

Challenges – people are incentive based.

Opportunities – build in technologies to manage efficiencies. Sleep modes, etc. Learn what cars are the most and least fuel efficient here.

Other – The consumption habits of modern consumer lifestyles are causing a huge worldwide waste problem. 15 billion megawatts of energy is lost to waste. Some alternative energy companies are developing new ways to recycle waste by generating electricity from landfill waste and pollution.

Pricing Carbon – Experts believe this will occur between $20-$50 per metric ton. Others disagree.

All of these are very interesting options and demonstrate that there is no silver bullet to the Inconvenient Truth.